Monday, April 7, 2014

The post that's a whole week long...

My recovery run. I got to wear the shirt:)
And check out the photos on this post, I'm a side head cocker...

  • I have a whole week of talking about myself to catch up on! This blog post should be super long. Perhaps I will do it in two parts. Seriously though? I got nothing. Life has been busy for sure, but boring at the same time. Work and life, life and work. Same old, same old. Let's start from after the Bay. 
  • It took me 3 days to recover after running the Bay. I had a massage on the third day. My quads, hamstrings, calves, lower back...all in pretty bad shape. The receptionist effed up my appointment time and I was only booked in for 45 minutes. I never have a 45 minute massage. I was not happy to say the least and Mark couldn't help me out because he had someone else booked right after me. So I didn't get the 15 minutes per body part like I expected. He did strip my calves. That was very painful and made me levitate off the table a few times. Although he could have, he didn't do the same to my hamstrings and quads because he wanted me to be able to walk out of there. The massage was a good thing. Although it was painful during, by Thursday morning, my body felt completely normal again. 
  • So my recovery run happened Thursday morning. I kept it a shorter run at 6.4K, and my pace was 6:32/K. Not my best time, but my legs felt off. They didn't hurt. I just felt like I was dragging. The days leading up to my recovery run were brutal. On Monday I walked bow-legged all day. My upper inner thighs were super sore. Tuesday I felt like someone had beaten me across my quads with a crowbar. Wednesday there was a dull ache through my legs but Thursday I was good.


Top left: Julien and I after my run on Friday morning. He's looking dazed
and on his way to school.
Bottom left: I got to finally run on the trail where I used to walk Finn. There
were still some snowy parts, but it was mostly clear.
Right: Self love on Sunday. I like this picture of myself because I am wearing
zero make-up. Just  moisturiser of course!

  • I feel completely out of sorts. I have nothing to train for right now. I am joining the gym. I'm giving myself Friday as the deadline to sign up. I will be strength training and hopefully getting leaner. I'm not trying to lose more weight, but I would like to tone and firm up where I can. I will need someone to show me what to do or else I WILL hurt myself. I am accident prone. I've proven that 3x since the fall. Breaking my ankle and cheek bone, paralysing my arm and falling last month and wrecking up my shin. Yep, I need an instructor and some sort of caution tape around me while at the gym to warm others away from me. It's better to be safe than sorry!
  • I'm still running of course, but without a regular schedule, I'm questioning my running distances. My boss had a great idea today. He told me I should get a random number picking device that will pick a number between 6K and 16K for me. Something like a spinning wheel or a 10 sided die. And I just spin or roll that every morning to get my distance to run. I like the idea, but what if I roll 16K on a Wednesday and I have to be in the office for team meeting? I don't think he'd be too understanding if I missed team due to a run.
  • I was talking to a co-worker today about my eating habits. He's trying to eat cleaner because he wants to lose a few pounds before his wedding. He asked how I got to the point of not caring about food any more. He thinks I don't care about food because during team meeting, I don't eat all the sweets and pastries. I still care about food. It pre-occupies me. I think about binging everyday. I haven't binged on any of my former binge foods, but I have over eaten foods such as nuts and fruit. Still high in sugar and calories and not good in large amounts. But I really struggle with wanting to eat something bready. That is what I get fixated on. Everyone thinks I have this iron clad will power. The truth is that I constantly fight with the voice telling me to eat bread, or pasta, or get a Big Mac and fries.  I can't give in and I won't. But the struggle is still there front and center.


I felt like a tourist today. Mental Health court at Old City Hall in Toronto.
Never a boring time.


  • I wanted to share a comment I got from Janice on my last post about running the Bay. Hi Leigh! I just want to say Thank You for running yesterday. I already knew it, but while we were watching, it dawned on me that ATB raises money for St. Joseph's Healthcare. My son was diagnosed with thyroid cancer on Feb 10 and his surgery is scheduled for June 12 at St. Joe's. I know people run for many different reasons, but I got pretty emotional and so grateful for all those runners helping to raise money so my son and so many others can get the best care possible.
  • This comment touched me so deeply. This right here makes me forget about my aching feet and my sore body. This makes me know for sure that regardless of how lousy it was to have to train for the Bay this past winter, I will absolutely and without a doubt repeat the exact same thing next year. Because aching feet, a sore body, sub-zero running temperatures and more snow than I can remember is nothing compared to having a son diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Thank you Janice for putting things into perspective for me and making me eternally grateful for all the blessings I have. God bless you and your family. I pray for the best possible outcome for your son. xox
  • Here is a video of me and my son having some fun in front of the camera. Julien's favourite 80's song is Tenderness by General Public. So he wanted us to dance to it. When I was in high school, I remember watching everyone else do the Running Man during school dances. I couldn't do it of course because I was obese in high school. But I can do it now. This was day 2 of Bay recovery and my quads were on fire. But this was also the 3rd song I did the Running Man to. I look silly as hell, but I don't care. Julien and I had fun:) Sorry for the very bad picture quality!